


Cutting it Fine

by angelbabe_cj



Series: Holiday Prompt Ficlets 2015 [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas, Established Relationship, F/M, HP: EWE, Post-Hogwarts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-19
Updated: 2016-02-19
Packaged: 2018-05-21 22:00:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6059626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelbabe_cj/pseuds/angelbabe_cj
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Christmas is fast approaching and Hermione's presented Harry with a job</p><p>Holiday Prompts 2015: “You’re the only one I trust to do this.” Harry/Hermione from Tina</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cutting it Fine

**Author's Note:**

  * For [captandor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/captandor/gifts).



> I've never written this pairing before, although I used to read a lot of it back in my early days of fandom. It was fun to explore.
> 
> Thank you so much to [Gelsey](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Gelsey/pseuds/Gelsey) for the beta. :D

Harry eyed the box he’d been presented with suspiciously. It was bursting with an assortment of decorations for both tree and house, which were piled haphazardly on top of each other. It was a combination of a few things retrieved from her parents and things she’d bought since decorations started appearing in shops, and even one that appeared to have a tag on from a previous year’s sale. 

“You know I never actually did this, right?” he asked. “Aunt Petunia was always too particular about what went where. The most I was allowed to do was untangle the lights or whatever else had got knotted up.”

Hermione wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned in to kiss his cheek comfortingly. “I know, but you’re the only one I trust to do this. I love being a witch, but I like my Christmas decorations nice and Muggle-friendly for when my parents come over, and you know if Ron tried to do them we’d end up with something there that shouldn’t be. Or he’d get George to help, and there would be surprise jokes hidden there for us to find at the wrong moment. Plus, it’s _our_ flat, not his.”

That point Harry had to concede, and he leaned his cheek on the top of Hermione’s head.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to wait until you get back?” he asked, partly wanting to share this with her as their first Christmas living together as adults. 

“I don’t think there will be time,” Hermione replied, sounding regretful. “I have to get those last few presents after work, and you _know_ anywhere I go by then will be heaving. I wish we’d managed to get everything up yesterday, but weekends always seem to run away with me between work and normal household things. And I wanted to do it together, and you were at work, and now we’ve run out of time.” She huffed, seeming annoyed with herself, or work, or some other aspect of her extremely busy life.

“I know, Hermione, I know,” he said, hand rubbing her side and kissing the top of her head. That, at least, seemed to prompt a faint smile. He felt, as well as heard, her taking a deep breath.

“I have to go,” she said, flicking her wand to summon her cloak. She stepped out of Harry’s embrace and wrapped it around herself, but immediately stepped back in. 

He wrapped his arms around her, and she looked up, smiling in a way he thought of as private between the two of them. He smiled in return and leaned in to give her a goodbye kiss. “Love you,” he murmured, touching his forehead to hers as they pulled apart.

“I love you too, Harry,” she said, pecking him again. She sighed. “But I have to go. I have a meeting in twenty minutes and I need to run through my day with Freda first.”

Harry nodded, knowing how busy Hermione was almost all the time, and the ridiculously efficient assistant she shared with two other campaigners would give her the sort of eloquently unimpressed face which he’d previously only seen on the faces of Hermione or Professor McGonagall. Or perhaps Molly Weasley. He hadn’t expected it to translate to Chinese features, but Ms Fang had proved him wrong the first time he’d called in to ask Hermione to have lunch with him.

He kissed her again, getting absorbed in the softness of her mouth and the give and take of their kiss, right up until she swatted him away. 

“Nope. Leaving now,” she said, squeezing out of his arms, laughing. She left the flat quickly, still laughing as she picked up her bag and exited.

Harry grinned after her for several seconds before turning back to the tree they’d had sitting, undecorated, in their flat since Friday. Better get on with decorating it before Hermione’s parents turned up this evening. And the rest of the house for that matter. It was less than ten days to Christmas, after all.


End file.
